Said the Spider to the Fly
by FluffyGlitterPantsDragon
Summary: Angelically speaking, Lucifer tends to keep a low profile, which keeps him under the radar of the vast majority of the MCU as just an eccentric playboy with a funny name. The Avengers, or more specifically, Black Widow and Iron Man take notice of the previously ignored Lucifer Morningstar when they get in a fight with him and Maze. (Language)(I love my beta)(New Series)


Maze's bounty hunt had gone, quite literally, sideways.

She had picked up the trail of her quarry via a hit on social media, of all things, right before she would've given up for the night. A few minutes of keeping an eye out later, she spotted the pretty black speed bike weaving through traffic.

Her own black bike flashed between street lights and cars, reflecting everything off her ride like a strobe as she gave her machine more gas. His looked much like hers, built for speed but not necessarily agility, or so she thought.

The guy quickly caught on that he was being tailed. With a shimmy of his bike frame that nearly gave _her_ whiplash, he performed a set of abrupt 90 degree turns that should not have been possible under any circumstance. The last of which, instead of left or right, was up the side of a building. She skidded to a sliding stop on burning wheels to keep from plastering herself against the brick wall, growling and looking up as a trailing red tail light vanished over the edge of the roof.

There weren't a lot of things that could defy physics like that, magic bike or no. The bounty was _already_ problematic, as she couldn't legally turn him in, in the state of California - it was a private request, not one she normally went after, but she'd never shied away from shady opportunities. It was also worth enough to risk her license if she was caught.

She groaned as she thought about her options. She didn't want to do it, but she had to call her ex-boss in on this one. His stupid bike begged a few questions she didn't yet have the answers to.

She kicked her motorcycle around and followed along the block in the street while she dialed hands-free. It rang a number of times before Lucifer picked up, with the sound of an only slightly muted LUX in the background. "What do you want, Maze? I'm in the middle of someone."

"Don't you mean something?"

"It's body shot contest night, so, no."

Lucifer making out with multiple people was always fun to watch. She just had different kinds of fun these days. "Hey, I gotta ask, are there any more demons running around on the surface?"

He started to argue, then sighed. There was a roughly five-second pause, then he answered. "No more than before. I assume you meant new ones, specifically in LA?"

"Duh. Okay, I have a problem, I just don't know what the deal is yet."

"Care to elaborate?"

"If this thing isn't a demon, I can handle it. If it is, I'd rather know ahead of time."

"It's not a demon. Nor infernal in nature, from what I can tell. My Celestial radar detection is a little rusty these days, however."

A flicker of gleaming gold and red streaking above her at high speed entered her peripheral vision, even through her helmet visor. She didn't think much of it, except that it _seemed_ to be tracking, or at least searching for her bounty, flying parallel to her and above the street. She could also hear the heavy rumble and choke of the motorcycle of her bounty somewhere above her. The metallic streak above her burned ahead then flipped around neatly and came back.

_There is absolutely no way these things are related. It's a freaking __**bounty**__. _

A rather advanced looking bike, black with some artfully placed blue accents, pulled up alongside her with a smooth - if loud - purr. The woman's hair peeked out from under her helmet in a flashing swirl of red that rippled with the air currents. She _could_ have been almost any other slim woman in black leather gear but Maze recognized her body frame and style with absolute certainty.

_Huh. This just got more interesting._

The helmet came up and the Widow acknowledged the recognition in Maze's eyes with a fast, friendly open-palm salute.

Iron Man was already angling for a dive at the rooftops. Her bounty suddenly soared off the roof to land in the street in front of them with yards to spare. Maze noted that the man didn't have any arrows sticking out of him, or his bike, so that meant Hawkeye wasn't around either. Even if he didn't normally kill people, an arrow to the gas tank will slow anyone down pretty quickly.

Again, the bike the bounty was riding should not have survived that the crushing bounce against gravity as it nailed the pavement and kept going like nothing happened - let alone tearing off again into traffic with its suspension apparently intact.

Widow leaned forward and zipped ahead without even a wiggle of the tires.

_Oh, HELL no!_

Maze poured on the acceleration and latched onto her tail. Widow didn't look back physically, but her helmet adjusted fractionally to watch Maze in her mirrors.

Lucifer must have sensed something or he was just bored, so he asked, "what's happening? Other than yourself, of course?"

"It's the damn Shiny Ass Club. I think they're after my bounty."

"Oh ho! Need a _favor_, Mazikeen?"

"I'm not splitting this bounty with you, Lucifer."

"That's not it at all. Although, if you don't get him first, you won't have a bounty to split. I haven't stretched my legs in a decent fight in some time. Mind if I join your little tea party?"

She pretended to consider saying no. At this rate, even if she and Lucifer won against two Avengers, the rest of them couldn't be far behind. Unless this was some low hanging fruit for them. Still, they were on the wrong side of the country, so maybe the bounty just interrupted Stark's vacation plans for the summer. Widow must have already been local for reasons unknown. Anyone else who could fly in probably would have picked up the guy on the bike by now. Literally, though she wasn't sure who made up the entire club. Wasn't there a guy with wings now?

She growled, "fine." _And maybe I can get my hands on that bike._

Maze always _knew_ where Lucifer was, just as Lucifer _knew_ where she was, at least in a general sense. He said, "I can feel you coming closer to LUX, do you think you can herd your mark more this way?"

"Might. We've pointed that way anyway. Keep an eye out. The Spider's ass looks great in her outfit, by the way. News cameras don't do her justice."

"Hmm. Definitely steer them this way."

"Dibs."

"Someone's feeling greedy."

Three bikes, mostly black and all of them sexy, rapidly sped through downtown LA. Maze didn't try to keep an eye on Iron Man - she needed to focus on any people or vehicles in front of her. A mistake at these speeds could and would be deadly to - well - _others_. The engine under her roared, keeping close. Her sleek baby would be no match for Widow's out on an empty highway, but here in the thick of the city, they had equal footing while dodging cars and a few pedestrians. Maze might even have the upper hand, with her intimate knowledge of the city streets. By happy coincidence, they seemed to be headed _straight_ to LUX anyway.

Widow tensed slightly. She still didn't turn to look back - she knew as well as Maze did that breaking her concentration was bad. They ran a number of red lights - Maze trusting that someone had already done their hero schtick and cleared traffic for Widow. Someone had. Behind her, Maze caught the reflection of shining red and gold coming off buildings and cars in her mirrors, coming in hard behind her. Iron Man left off the bounty to investigate Maze.

She hissed to herself as he flew level with her bike. She didn't even look at him. If he became a problem, she'd react then, but not before. He nudged toward her and she sped up, so he changed tactics. He broke into her phone line and addressed her, "Hey, dark and sexy, veer off, this isn't a good time to play with the big boys. Not that it ever is, in a high-speed chase, but you know. Break off now and I'll even throw in an autograph."

"Fuck off." Maze crouched low against her frame, cutting back her visual range, but making herself less of a target. Flicking a half-second glance at her mirrors, she caught Iron Man's glowing eyes cocking to the side as he considered her. The two heroes were clearly talking to one another, but it only lasted a second or two. Widow make a flicking motion with her hand without taking it off the handle.

_Uh oh._

Iron Man braked slightly and flew above her, out of her eye line. A cable snapped under and around her ride with unholy speed, lifting both her and her bike off the pavement with a hard jerk, slamming her helmeted face down into the display gauges. She immediately recovered and climbed into a crouch. She threw herself off and down and just barely managed a superhero quality landing on the back of Widow's bike. She braced herself, but it wasn't quite enough for the reaction she got from the redhead.

Widow braked _hard_, kicking the back of her bike up and throwing Maze headfirst generally toward the pavement in front of LUX. Fortunately for her, Lucifer was in the way. Unfortunately for Lucifer…

They spun to the ground, flattened and tumbling hard toward the front doors in a fast roll, coming to a violent stop right up against the main wall. Any human would have a few broken bones, at minimum. Had Chloe been around, Lucifer would have been in very bad shape.

Bystanders in line gasped and scattered, some screaming, as Widow pulled up to a controlled, skidding stop. Her front wheel came to rest on the bike the bounty had been driving, now tipped over and abandoned.

Maze didn't spare Lucifer any attention as she struggled to untangle herself. He was fine, better than her, if pissed.

Widow slung her helmet over a handlebar and Maze felt a flush of arousal flood her body as the woman dismounted with unconscious grace, lightly curling hair falling free with a bounce around her neck. _Not even helmet hair. Bitch._

Widow spoke into her wrist as she sauntered right past Lucifer and Maze who were almost fighting each other to stand up first at this point. "Target ditched and ran into the club. I'm going inside to look for him. Have JARVIS send drones around the exits to keep watch while you deal with these two yahoos, would you?"

Maze hissed and rose to her feet, carelessly throwing her helmet to the ground and drawing her knives. She winced as she belatedly realized she'd have to replace the thing now. Or should, anyway. "HEY! That guy is _mine!"_

Black Widow dropped her hand and turned slowly, one eyebrow very strategically raised. Cooly, with no inflection, she asked, "yours?"

Lucifer unfolded his long legs and stood. He straightened his cuffs and cast an eye down his person, regarding the long rip in his suit jacket. He glared at Widow, but addressed Maze, "I'll be sending a bill. This had better be a more fun diversion than doing body shots." He turned to look for Maze and found himself staring into the faceplate of Iron Man, landing in a blast of glitter and dirt blowing up from the sidewalk from his jets or whatever they were.

Lucifer reflected that the man had to be shorter than he appeared on camera, as his glowing robotic eyes fell just below his own brown, even in the fancy metal suit.

Stark's voice filtered through the faceplate. "Hey, handsome. Why'd our guy come to you?"

He held his ground, angry. "Because I instructed my associate to lead him here."

"You have three seconds to come up with a good reason to get in the middle of Avengers business. No, wait, you don't have three seconds," glowing palms raised threateningly with a low electric hum that got higher pitched. Stark stepped one foot back, lightly bracing himself.

"Trying to intimidate innocent bystanders? Really?" Lucifer scoffed, "You're on _my_ property and you're not welcome here."

"No? Cause _now _you're harboring a fugitive, and on top of that your _associate_ is delaying our mission, so I have a theory that you aren't so innocent. Plus, we're on the sidewalk, which _isn't _yours."

"Well, you've got me pegged, I'm no innocent," he smirked, squared his shoulders - rolling them in a deliberate action, but nothing happened. "Bugger."

The helmet tilted. "Are you planning on shrugging at me to death?"

"Old habits die hard. Just as well, with the public here. I don't need them thinking I'm one of _you._"

Black Widow twirled her finger over her head, "ladies! Wrap this up so the important people can get going. Iron Man and I have a target to catch," she looked levelly at Maze and her knives and plucked a pair of advanced-looking cuffs off her waist. "Put those away before you hurt yourself, sweetheart. It'll make it easier on all of us."

"Are you trying to arrest me? What for?"

She flicked the cuffs in a circle. "Not arresting, containing. The police won't get involved with this. And, at worst, for interfering in our operations as an unregistered- Stark, what are we calling them these days? Mutant?"

He lowered his hands, pausing to answer her question. "Speak for yourself. I'm not enhanced by- wait, I think that's it. Enhanced."

"And if you aren't _enhanced_, then just for kicks and giggles until you cool the hell off."

"I can think of better things to do with those. And I wouldn't count on the LAPD staying out of this. We have friends there." Maze looked from the fancy handcuffs to Widow, to Lucifer - who shrugged microscopically. She snarled and leapt at Widow, who dropped them on the ground, drew a pair of batons and matched Maze smile for smile, balancing on the balls of her feet and eager for a fight. "So you admit you're protecting the target."

Lucifer and Iron Man looked at each other. The Devil said, "I'll give you _enhanced_." And threw a fist at Stark's faceplate. He had a fairly recent history of having to learn to pull his punches with humans in general, and he did so automatically now. It was a weak punch, by almost anyone's standards, but the fact that Lucifer didn't wince at all when his knuckles made contact with the helmet made Stark take a closer look at him.

An armored hand came up a fraction of a second later and grabbed Lucifer's wrist. "C'mon, give a guy a hint of what your powers are. It's no fun dancing if I don't at least know the tune."

He belatedly shook his hand as if his knuckles hurt, but it was too late to disguise his non-reaction to striking armor. "Let's just say I'm older than I look."

"Tango it is."

Lucifer wrenched his wrist out of Iron Man's grip, no longer holding back his strength. As long as the humans (or whatever they really were) thought he and Maze had _super_powers, he might as well use them a little. He grinned darkly, "and me without _my_ armor. Well, I left it behind on purpose anyway and you're no angel, even if you fly."

Maze and Widow slid past each other, amid a flurry of strikes and dodges, near a smaller group of remaining people who decided to film the show instead of running for their lives. At least they had the sense to stay a bit back. Several more pressed up against the inside of the glass doors of LUX as if the thin barrier might protect them from the hell about to be unleashed.

The women looked darkly at each other. One of Widow's wrist gadgets sparked in noisy protest; a slash had been cut clean down one edge - not enough to break to the skin, but enough to put one of her static weapons out of commission. She spared it a quick glance and threw it off her wrist. In return, Maze favored her left leg just slightly.

It was a fake-out; Maze, too, had spent enough time around humans to know when to pretend an injury. Widow had hit her solidly on the shin, so while she didn't do anything so obvious as limp, she pretended that it hurt. If nothing else, the ploy often gave her an advantage in a fight.

Just because she always won her fights didn't mean she had to play nice about it.

Widow had her back to Iron Man. She commented, "they're both enhanced. What's JARVIS say?"

Lucifer thrust his open hand against Iron Man's chest and shoved him backward, sending him nearly stumbling over Widow, before he had a chance to respond.

Maze grinned and rushed in, aiming to take out the other electric cuff on Widow's wrist. The redhead ducked out of the way, faster than Maze thought possible for a human, but then she thought that on the bike chase too. Widow kicked out a leg and caught Maze in the side with a well-placed strike to her ribs.

A human would be suffering from _at least _one broken rib. Maze wasn't. She let the momentum of the kick carry her around, coming back up on her feet with a short tumble, daggers at the ready. The blow made her suck in a sharp breath that stung just a little.

The people excitedly holding up phones all around them suddenly dropped them, as every single phone pointed at them sparked violently. Stark muttered, "thanks, JARVIS. Don't really want _that_ on the internet." He pulled himself back up to his feet, facing down the deceptively strong man. There was a short pause - more of that communication unheard by outsiders - then he asked, "also, What the hell kind of name is 'Lucifer'? I'm getting bad guy vibes, Red."

Whoever he had talking in his ear was absurdly fast with identification. "The Hell, indeed. Not my chosen one, that's for sure, but it suits me."

Widow flipped her batons. "Seriously? Are they Asgardians? Another asshole that inspired fairy tales?"

"JARVIS doesn't think so - the Asgardian part anyway. He _is_ going with non-human, however."

She grunted. "Fabulous."

Lucifer looked at her like a viper regarding prey. "Why, thank you, Ms. Spider. Your friend is correct, we aren't human, but _I_ am more like a template for humanity, so you're welcome."

"Knock it off. I'm giving you one last chance to stand down."

"Or what?"

Her eyebrow twitched. "Are you at all familiar with the phrase 'Code Green'? I bet you can guess."

Maze looked like she was ready to launch herself at Widow one more time, but Lucifer held up a hand and she stood in place, grudgingly. He snorted, "you wouldn't. In downtown LA?"

"I don't know what you're capable of and frankly, I don't have time for this crap. If you don't want to make more trouble, we'll have a nice little chat somewhere quiet after we deal with the real threat."

His lip twisted unpleasantly. "Maze, hold off. I'd rather not have my club destroyed over a bit of fun."

Another unheard communication between the two took place and the redhead looked at the sky and glowered. "Great. The target just fell off the grid. Does this place have underground tunnels?"

Maze glanced at Lucifer, who nodded. "Yeah, besides plumbing, there are some other...options."

Through the mask, Stark said, "I'll send drones down there to try and track them-"

Lucifer crossed his arms. "Hang on - I don't think we gave you permission to just fly your toys through our home."

Stark shrugged. "Hey, Devil-guy, you own this building?"

"Lease the club part, but yes, it's in my name. I own the upper floors, however."

"Sweet. Mind if JARVIS tracks down the bad guy that you two slowed down while we find that nice quiet place to talk?"

* * *

Maze leaned against the bar while their two guests looked around the penthouse with less interest than most who came up. Stark did a quick sweep, turning around once, looking for threats, perhaps.

She snorted to herself. The most technologically advanced thing in Lucifer's penthouse was the laptop he used for porn. If he was looking for anything _dangerous _here in the penthouse, Stark should pay more attention to people he was with. Iron Man tilted his head at Lucifer. "May I lose the armor so we can talk like civil beings? Or are we going to have more problems?"

"You have my word I won't harm you while in my home, as long as you don't try to 'contain' either of us again."

"_That_ remains to be seen, but the fact you didn't call our bluff due to the risk to your _club_, says something about you, even if the name is an odd choice."

Before Lucifer protested that particular phrasing, unseen latches and locks withdrew with little sound or fanfare, and Stark stepped out of the suit with barely a drag of fabric. "I did some talking with my people on the way up - you seem to care, or at least pretend to care about the people who work for you. Even your police partner gives you occasional good reviews, mixed with some rather interesting commentary on your work ethics. And apparently you're _married_, but your trophy wife lives in Vegas."

He tried very hard not to openly preen at that, clamping down on any facial response. "We're in the middle of an amicable separation. Should I even bother to ask how you know any of that?"

"No. Just know that if information is recorded anywhere on this planet, I can get my hands on it. Usually extremely quickly."

Maze wondered what they had on her. Less than Lucifer, certainly, if only because her name wasn't on as many papers as his. She noted with some amusement that he was distinctly shorter out of the armor. On camera, he had makeup. She liked his face better without the touch ups. On the news or talk shows, he at least tended to smile. He wasn't now.

"_Electronically _recorded information?"

"Or printed. It might take a little longer, but if it's there and at least one person on the planet has seen a relevant book or scrap of manuscript at some point, about _anything_, I will find it." There was a hint of threat in the tone but Lucifer had never hidden who or what he is. It was the humans' lack of belief in his word that had always been the mental door stop. It had been less of a problem in the good old days. The smarter humans got, the less likely they were to accept him at face value. After a short pause, he added, "JARVIS-"

"Already noted, sir."

Lucifer snorted.

He turned to Maze, looking her up and down appreciatively, if warily. "So, what's the deal? Jarvis tells me your name means 'demon' in some languages and both of you appeared out of thin air less than a decade ago, at the same time."

"Who's Jarvis? Your butler?"

"I'm asking the questions here. Wanna tell me what hole or holes you guys crawled out of?"

Lucifer poured himself a drink, offering up a round of booze. "Whiskey?"

Widow declined. To Maze's mild surprise, Stark accepted a glass. She held off for now.

Outside of the machined suit, he wore a functional black undersuit, not unlike Widow's, only less shiny. He didn't look uncomfortable in it. He tugged thin black gloves off his hands and stashed them in his belt. His eyes lit up as the drink touched his tongue. "Hmm. Man, or possible underworld dweller, of good taste." He took a longer sip, chasing it around his mouth. "Yeah, I'll have to get some of this. So. Devil?"

Both Lucifer and Maze looked with interest at the glowing circle that shone through the suit. Lucifer shucked his jacket and laid it over a chair at the bar. "Depends on your definition. I'm retired."

"Of course you are."

Widow crossed her arms and looked at Maze. "And you?"

"Demon."

She sniffed, nearly inaudible to anyone else. "You've got good reflexes, I'll give you that. You don't seem like 'take over the world' types, which is good, but we don't know who you really are, and that's bad. You aren't Asgardians - probably - and you may or may not be other kinds of aliens, which leaves enhanced humans or maybe genetically engineered ones. Any of those close?"

Lucifer _giggled_. "Nope. Try _supernatural_, but I prefer more specific terms. Celestial and Infernal, to be precise. I was made in Heaven and she was forged in Hell."

"To torture the damned for all eternity. Though it's on hold for the foreseeable future." Maze tilted her head fractionally. "Asgardians?"

Both Lucifer and Stark replied, "Thor."

Lucifer shrugged and added, "Loki too. Fun bunch, for the most part, if you can get them drunk enough. Thor's father is as much of an ass as mine. Maybe a bit less. Odin should take a page out of my book and step down for a bit. The fact that Thor is often _here, _however, tells me either the royal line has broken or the old cyclops is still in charge of Asgard."

Widow tilted her chin up at him, noting he didn't include Loki in the family. Unnecessarily, she asked, "you know Loki?"

"Oh, Miss Spider, we go _way_ back. The God of Mischief and the Devil make a pretty match." He cocked his head toward the bedroom area of the open penthouse with a grin that meant exactly what he intended it to. "I haven't seen him lately, so if you're looking for him I can't help you there. Thor, sadly, doesn't have a gay bone in his body, but he does know how to party."

She didn't comment on Loki's current situation. "_God_ doesn't mind sharing titles?"

"Adding 'so-called' to every other thing I talk about gets tedious. Loki isn't a God, but he isn't opposed to being called one in bed. Honestly, it's the one way I can sound like you humans and not have it come out somehow incestuous. But to answer your question, _Dad_ hasn't spoken to me or anyone else in quite some time. Even with my feathered brethren, it's all blindly guessing what He even wants these days."

Stark drained his glass, placed it on the bar and squinted at Lucifer. Whatever he was mulling over, he didn't share. Maze would bet her life there was a history there between him and Loki, however. He leaned on his elbow on the bar casually. "Hmm. Call me next time he drops in for a visit."

"I'd never turn him over to you."

"That's not what I'm talking about."

"_Well_, then, if you believe you can keep pace with a demigod and a devil..."

Tony grinned, "so I don't think we've _properly_ met. Hi, I'm Tony Stark, Iron Man and playboy billionaire. You are?"

"Oh, we're doing titles now? Lucifer Morningstar. _The_ Morning Star, Angel of Light - _Arch_angel, if you please, The Adversary - rather like that one - and _Ex-_Lord of Hell, I have many more, both human-granted or from Father. The demons had rather creative names for me as well. Here, I'm just a simple country club-owner and humble civilian police consultant."

He didn't blink. "And your- I believe you called her your _associate_?"

Maze cut off anything Lucifer was going to say; she was going to introduce her own damn self. "Mazikeen. I use Smith as a surname. Previous Head Torturer of Hell and daughter of the Lilim."

"Kinky. Do you get business cards with that?"

She produced one. "Bounty Hunter too. Which is what I was doing when you interrupted me."

He flicked a glance over at his suit, "JARVIS?"

With barely a pause for processing, the voice answered, "there is, in fact, an illegal bounty out on-"

"Cancel it, please."

Maze stood up, bristling. "HEY. That guy-"

"Done, sir."

Stark stepped closer to Lucifer and helped himself to a refill, "and wire Mazikeen Smith the appropriate amount. Throw in a little extra for the trouble. Charge it to Fury." He pointed to the knives on her belt. "What would you take for those, or one of them? It's not every day you see something that can cut through something I made, knife or otherwise."

She ground her teeth. "That's cheating. You can't just come in here and buy your way-"

"Honey, I do exactly that, _all the time._ Look it's not that we don't think you could capture that guy-" His tone clearly said otherwise, "but whoever put the bounty out on him _hopefully_ didn't know what they were dealing with. If you had actually turned him in and collected, he'd just be out again in under a day."

"Not my problem. My _problem_ is that this is my job now since I'm stuck here and need to pay rent."

"And I just took care of that."

Widow stepped in. "It's not the money, dick, it was her chase. Her mission."

Maze poured herself a refill too and slammed it back. "Mine. I could have handled him."

Another look was exchanged between the heroes. Stark said, "prove it."

The demon had her knives out in a flick, spinning them with equal expertise in each hand. "Where and when, flyboy?"

He ignored the knives. "Catch him anyway, With us or without us, Maybe we'll make you an Avenger."

Black Widow did blink at that. "You can't be serious."

"Why not? New baddies keep popping up all the time. If we don't snatch her up, maybe they will. Plus, she works for money, making it all the more likely we'll be facing her again. And I still want one of those knives. Can you make or get more, Ms. Smith?"

"I don't. Vulcan makes them, and they're Hell-Forged. There's more of them back down in Hell, but I can't get to them."

Lucifer rolled his eyes. "Maze, you can't _sell_ weapons from Hell."

"Screw you. I'm gonna be an Avenger. I bet it pays better than bounty hunting." She tilted her head to Widow. "Can I have a black suit like yours?"

The redhead looked her over. "Nah, that's my style. Dark red would look good on you. And call me Natasha."

Maze nodded with a silky smile, "Hey, Natasha. Or should I say, future co-worker?"

She allowed herself a small smile in return and addressed Lucifer, "how about you?"

He put a hand in his pocket. "What about me?"

"Other than your mad eyeliner skills, what are your powers?"

He lifted his eyebrows suggestively, taking another drink. "Well, there's this thing I do with my tongue - several, actually."

Tony looked intrigued, but Nat said, "maybe another time unless we need to seduce our enemies into giving up. What else?"

Lucifer hedged, "you know, I left Hell so I could just be myself. These days I play the piano and work with the LAPD."

Maze snorted. "Fine, he can be my sidekick."

Lucifer choked on his drink. "_Sidekick?"_

Widow grinned. "Not even that if he can't _do _anything. I mean, he did take an impressive fall back downstairs when you body-slammed him. We could always just leave him in the exercise room. He can spend half his time standing around looking pretty and the other half as a workout partner."

Naturally, Lucifer purred, "Oh, is the good Captain ever there? That's something I'd like to see. He has lovely shoulders."

Tony smiled then caught himself and coughed. "No, he's a lot like Thor - straight as an arrow - but it'd be fun to see you try to pick him up."

"I prefer not to waste my time. _You_, however, I bet would look quite nice spread out under me. You seem like the whips and chains type. Into hardware, as it were?"

The smile crept back, turning mischievous. "Who says I'm on the bottom?"

He breathed in through his nose, eyes glittering and dark. "You can have me any way you want, darling. I'm _versatile_."

Natasha groaned. "Oh, my God. Girls, please. Can we get back to the topic?"

Lucifer and Maze flicked glances at each other. He said, "hmmm, how about a four-way? I've got plenty of space. And stamina."

_That_ finally got a spark of interest from Natasha, but Maze couldn't tell exactly what for. The woman was incredibly hard to read and it made Maze want her even more. Tony's free hand drifted to his fitted collar, pulling at it slightly and looking back at Lucifer with barely disguised lust. He was _much _easier to read.

"Stark, focus now. Bang later," the redhead pegged Lucifer with a pointed stare. "Powers. What are they?"

"Hmmph. Extra complicated one there, Maze. Let's do the easy one first. Mr. Stark, if you please? Just look at my face."

"Call me Tony." He was closer anyway. Both were only human. Tony met his eyes from a foot away. When his jaw went a little slack, Natasha stood up like a lightning rod, watching closely with one hand on a baton at her waist. Maze took an obliging step back to appear less threatening and give her a better view. Widow threw a question at the suit, "JARVIS?"

"Readings are within normal ranges but relaxed. His blood pressure has dropped 20 points, heart rate has elevated by 10 beats per second and his brain waves indicate an altered state akin to a dopamine rush - no indication of mental invasion from my end. Eyes dilated, body temperature has risen by half a degree. Scans indicate an internally generated response to exterior stimulus."

Lucifer touched Tony's chin, ignoring everyone else. "Anthony Stark, beloved by the whole world and hero of the Earth, what more could you possibly want from life?"

Natasha looked ready to pounce.

Tony's voice came out soft, distracted. "I never looked up to my father, you know. Never even _liked_ him."

"My Father is a prat as well. Family issues are nothing new to me. Do go on."

"I want my legacy to be bigger than his ever was, better, more meaningful. I use the Stark name but I always wanted it to be my own, somehow. Not his. In my head, I've always seen _his_ name on my buildings, not _mine_. He _gave _me the Stark name, but it's never really been mine. It might never be." He blinked a few times and took a deep breath. "Damn, you need to bottle that and sell it. Also, ignore anything I just said. Also, what did I say?"

Widow pushed Tony out of the way and deliberately looked up into Lucifer's dark eyes. "Do it again. I want to see how it works for myself."

Stark snatched the bottle of whiskey and poured himself a third double shot into his glass. "Wow, that was a rush. JARVIS?"

"Readings back to normal sir. You lost approximately 8 seconds of awareness. The power appears to be a kind of truth serum, projected from the source in mental attack form. From what I can tell, it did not enter your body, though it did cause a dramatic response."

"I'll say."

Lucifer corrected the voice without breaking eye contact, "Celestial form. 'Attack' is a bit harsh."

Natasha narrowed her eyes. "Do you have to keep your eyes open? Are you doing it now?"

"It helps me to keep your focus _on_ me. It doesn't work as well on the strong-willed or when the subject can't or doesn't focus on my eyes. I still produce an aura that I can effectively dial up or down that impacts people around me. This...gift can overwhelm almost anyone's natural reservations against blurting out whatever they're thinking and feeling."

"You have my attention. Do it."

He took a long sip of his drink, put it down on the bar and _looked_ down at her, fully meeting her gaze. Unlike Tony, he didn't touch her right away. He had a feeling that she required a less direct approach. "Natasha, my lovely spider, a spinner of secrets and lies. You are burdened overmuch with things you shouldn't know, don't want to know. What is your darkest desire? What do you keep even from yourself that you dare not think too hard about? Will you let the Devil tempt you, tease you with what you only _think _you can't have?"

Unlike Tony, she stiffened. There was something in her eyes as she unfocused slightly. He clearly hit a nerve on the first try, but making that nerve sing for him was still the hard part for one so complicated.

She didn't blink, searching his face. When she answered, it was what she chose to say, not what her hindbrain wanted her to, for the most part. Some deeply controlled part of her screamed to spit out the whole truth. She pushed it back, opting for a bare-bones version. A voice to words that were true but also could have belonged to just about anyone. "No one single person knows all my secrets - sometimes I don't think I even do. There may not be enough people currently alive to know my whole story but there are those who know more than others."

Lucifer leaned an elbow on the bar casually. With a single finger, he brushed back a curl of her flame-red hair, letting a fingernail graze her cheek with a feather-light touch. He wouldn't get anything useful out of her unless he got her to lie. The best lies are based in truth, and even a bad lie comes from somewhere, some experience, some reference in life. "Weave your web for me, little one, catch me up in your silken threads and feed me your delectable venom. I haven't tasted such in a long time."

Maze watched with real interest. Tony had stepped closer to his suit, pulled out an electronic display pad from inside and was flicking around on it rapidly with one finger, drink abandoned. Under his breath to himself, he said, "yeah, whatever this is, we need it."

The Widow's chin came up a little higher, ignoring the byplay behind her. "I would eat you alive. But you can't kiss a spider."

A finger trailed down along her jaw, to her neck, her pulse beating against his touch. "I'd like to try. I can taste your arousal for me, your desire to bind me in your silk and make me yours. Could you sink your fangs into me and drain me dry, do you think?"

Her eyes flicked to his mouth and back up to his eyes as she licked her lips. She fought not to relax the way Stark did. Lucifer sensed her willpower, her very soul and it was absolutely delicious. She was only pretending to be completely enraptured. She'd been here before, in some fashion, under someone's command, or attempted command, pretending to suffer the paralysis of her namesake. There was an additional layer of complexity she wove in, carefully threading her own subconscious, in and out, in a balance of _appearing_ to give in while holding back _just_ enough to be believable. Enough to dance along with his power, anchoring her web to his points as she tried to figure out what he wanted to hear. Always tell them what they want to hear and you've turned the source of power to yourself. When one strikes with an assumption of victory, one loses.

It was willful and deliberate and beautiful, not at all like the Detective's utter immunity. Natasha's subdued green eyes reflected his smile back to him. The outer edges of her eyelids softened, ever so slightly. A feint, as subtle as her mind itself. Her voice went flat, "I could do that and more, my Lord."

The spider fought him. He hadn't been challenged like this in _decades_. He had yet to meet another human who could continue to face him down and still resist him entirely - she _had_ to break, they all did sooner or later. He poured it on like gas on a fire. "Come now, beautiful weaver - perhaps I should call you my clever little cuttlefish, changing your pattern at will. We both know you didn't mean that. I'm not your Lord, nor anyone else's these days. I'm just a silly overpowered being who thinks too much of himself, aren't I? Playing with my powers like a cat with a toy?"

She flinched - nearly imperceptibly. Lucifer _beamed._

Stark muttered something, but it passed unnoticed by the two locked in a literal battle of wills.

Widow smiled softly without breaking eye contact, taking in a long, slow breath through wilted, lightly pursed lips. She touched the middle of his chest, pressing a flattened hand over his heart, her palm resting on a single shirt button between them. She felt for his heart rate, making the move seem sexual in nature, but was just a way for her to measure him. Everyone had a weakness and he projected his like a spotlight. She commanded her heart rate to match his, her fingertips stroking down his sternum suggestively. She matched her breathing to his as well, her synchrony made him lower his guard ever so slightly, and completely unconsciously. It was a biofeedback technique she was well trained in. She quoted, "_I have lived eighty years of life and know nothing for it, but to be resigned and tell myself that flies are born to be eaten by spiders and man to be devoured by sorrow."_

His smile widened even more. "_I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O Lord make my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it. _I own some of Voltaire's books. I could show them to you. What would you like to show me, my glittering, faceted arachnid? What would you write in your web?"

She fell to her own assumption, that she could prevail in some another way. Her pupils dilated and she looked up, her gaze unfocused.

She was very, very good at what she did. But so was he. And he was an immortal. Celestial. It was the reason he didn't like using his powers this way, to _show off._ It wasn't what he did. In a way, he failed too. There was no glory in victory here, bending her under him, not when there was no real goal in mind, no case to solve with his Detective, or real answers he needed or wanted to find. She was only human, after all, yet he found himself hungry for her mind, to find out more about her, what made her this way to be able to fight so hard. Even knowing what he could do, would do with his abilities, none had done as well as she.

He wondered what she would do with Azrael's blade. Weild it like Daniel, barely containing the power of the thing, or would she dance with it, courting death like a lover?

Natasha breathed out slowly, the green of her eyes verdant, as willing as flowers reaching for the sun, as they all eventually did. He wasn't disappointed - he couldn't be, not in this. She had come closer to any to breaking his geas, but he'd rarely done it this way before, feeling a bit more like a flashy peacock than usual. Flatly, but different from her usually carefully controlled manner, she said, "I'm not a hero. They call me that, but they don't _know_. I never was, I never will be. I don't _want_ to be worshipped for what they think I am."

He let her go, softly, releasing his power with uncommon gentleness. "Preaching to the choir, lovely, at least somewhat. Thank you. That was...refreshing."

Maze was impressed too. "That was pretty incredible, I haven't seen anything like that before."

Tony muttered, "I feel like I just watched two people have sex in front of me. And it was way hotter than the last time that actually happened."

"Thank you." Widow reacted as if the compliment had been meant for her alone. plucked Lucifer's glass from the bar and took a swig as if nothing had just happened. She was shaken, but she had a history of recovering from loss, sometimes rapidly. She used misdirection to hide her hands, gripping her drink a little too hard. Most people wouldn't have noticed. "Hey, this is good stuff. So, is that it?"

"It?"

"Your powers, got anything else? You're Satan, can you send people straight to Hell? Damn my soul with a thought?"

His jaw clenched, recovering from getting thrown by her. "That is not something I do, or have ever done."

Maze supplied, "he can set things on fire from a distance."

"I'm pretty sure Stark has that covered with his suit."

Tony still had his name brand pad out, rubbing his trimmed goatee with one hand. "Can we see it anyway? For posterity?"

"No."

Maze laughed. "He's sulking. You got him to sulk."

"Did not. I am _not_ sulking. Very well." He glowered, pulled the pocket square from the suit jacket he hung over the chair (the square was ruined from the roll on the concrete anyway) and tossed it overhead with enough force to send the light ball of cloth high in the air. It burst into a bright flame that started out blue and the silk quickly vanished in a puff of sprinkling ash.

JARVIS, unasked, commented, "Nearly complete combustion. High temperature. No detected origin source."

Tony tapped a few more lines absently. "Well, that last part might actually be helpful. If JARVIS can't tell you did it - no energy sig from him either?"

"None, sir."

"Hmmm. Keep every reading you got anyway - don't dismiss _anything_, I'll go over it tonight." He flicked a glance up at Lucifer, "are you married to the name? If we ever put you in the field, it would help to have code names for you both. Either way, you're getting fun new nicknames."

Lucifer crossed his arms. "Such as?"

"Off the top of my head? I'm going with Sexy As Fuck and Zippo."

"I hardly think-"

"Can it, _Zippo_. Yeah, I like that one. I mean, you're both sexy as fuck, but that pretty much goes with the superhero - or at least, hero, territory. Hey, SAF, got any other powers?"

Maze nodded. "I'm at least as talented as he is in bed. Other than that and the reflexes - sensitive hearing and I can track anything that has legs. I speak a few languages and know multiple combat styles. I'm very hard to scratch and I can probably give Hawkeye a run for his money on throwing knives accurately."

Without sounding insulting, Tony commented, "unlikely. Robin Hood can hit anything he wants to - and he pretty much only has to pick his target. Still not entirely clear on how it works, but it does seem to be a real power. We wouldn't keep a guy around just because he can arch really well. How about Zippo?"

Lucifer nearly snarled, "I will not respond to that-"

Maze shrugged, smiling, "he's a pretty good fighter, but he usually relies on me to do the dirty work. He also has this 'fear' type aura he can turn on too."

He spluttered, "_pretty good?_"

"Mr. I-don't-want-to-get-my-suits-dirty, yeah, pretty good. You're out of practice."

Tony looked up from his pad, tucking it under one arm. "How long did you say you've known each other?"

The Devil huffed. "Millenia? A few?"

She nodded again. "Hard to say, time in Hell works weird."

"So you guys are super attached to the personas?" Iron Man picked up his drink again.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. "More non-believers. Typical."

Widow tapped her lips with one finger. "It works for them. Are there any others in your Hell Club? _Devils, demons_, etcetera?"

"The other demons stay clear and tend to keep their noses clean. Any that don't, Maze tracks down and takes care of them. There's my oldest brother, but he's somewhat fallen at the moment, neither angel nor demon, depending on your definition. The rest of my remaining siblings don't bother me too often."

"So you're sticking with the 'Satan was an angel, first' story? I don't suppose you have wings?"

"Had. Maze...removed them for me. Burned the wings. My powers are significantly stronger with them; I can't teleport any longer but that's all behind me now. And I'm not joining your little team." He lowered his lashes slightly at Natasha. "That said, I wouldn't be opposed to either of you spending a little more time here with me. Or both of you, if you're so inclined."

"We've seen each other naked too many times for it to be anything but work-related, I think."

Stark kept getting distracted by whatever was on his electronic pad. "Hmm?"

"I'm calling dibs on the Devil."

He looked slightly disappointed but his toy kept his attention anyway. "Hmmm. K."

Lucifer's smile brightened. "If you don't have any other plans tonight…?"

Maze grumbled. "I saw her first."

Tony looked up again. "You could always come home with me, SAF. I have a nice pad not far from here, as the suit flies. But I'm going to be busy tonight going over my shiny new data. I'll send local SHIELD flunkies down into the tunnels under this place- there's no reason for us to go."

"I'm not demanding and I don't cuddle."

Lucifer rolled his eyes. "Neither of those things are true."

"In bed."

"Still not true."

"JARVIS, give her my address and let her in when she arrives. I'll fly myself back and get to work."

"Excuse me? You think I'm going to drive to _your_ place for a booty call?"

He shrugged. "You can drink all of my booze when you get there if you want. Either way, I'm not going to give you a ride. It's not nearly as comfortable as you think, or so I'm told. Your bike should be somewhere on this block."

"...We'll see. What about the fancy bike?"

"Already dealt with." Without looking up, Stark tucked the pad back into a holding place inside the suit and backed into it. "Later, gators." He strolled out and launched off Lucifer's balcony as if he did it all the time.

Maze snarled under her breath but stalked to the elevator. "I guess I should tell Chloe I'm not babysitting tonight. I'm gonna leave so many marks on him, it's going to make his next work meeting awkward."

Natasha threw after her helpfully, "you're going to have to work really hard to get Fury to do more than raise an eyebrow, FYI. It wouldn't be the first time he showed up with sex-hair. Or worse."

The demon grinned. "Thank you for the advice."

"No, thank you. It's fun to watch the boss's head try not to explode." Natasha turned back and looked over Lucifer appraisingly. This wasn't common for her. If she really did stay tonight, It wouldn't be _work_ and it sure as Hell wasn't a date. There were enough superheroes and villains already in the world that she wasn't terribly curious about that part. His mind was interesting to her. And she _hated_ losing. She wanted to know if he was toying with her or if she was really that close to the line. Shew also knew that it was a risk - that a still mostly unknown being or person could potentially take over her mind.

But JARVIS also knew what it would look like on his scans. If Lucifer turned her, the AI would warn the Avengers the moment she stepped into the tower or HQ. The odd couple here still didn't know what JARVIS was, or how powerful he was. And that happened, they had a very good reason to take this man down. It would be a good fight.

It was mildly dangerous, reckless even. It wouldn't be the first time she went into something without backup, without a plan. It was intoxicating, like the old days.

She wanted to dig out whatever was under that persona for her own curiosity. He had issues, and she wanted to read them, even if it took all night.

He smiled seductively but didn't turn his _power_ back on, how ever it worked. "So, what's on your mind, little spider?"

"Call me Nat."


End file.
